K9 Charger – Guelph, Canada

Died 7/25/23
Handler – Sgt. Andrew Crowe

Charger, retired police dog, passes away

Charger, a retired police dog who served the community for nine years, has passed away. Guelph police announced the 12-year-old German shepherd’s death at home on Tuesday. The canine, along with his partner Sgt. Andrew Crowe, handled more than 1,100 calls for service between 2011 and his retirement in September of 2020. “We would like to thank … Charger for his dedicated and loyal service to the community,” states a police news release. “He will be missed and remembered by the many whose lives he enriched.” Charger was certified in tracking, building searches, area searches, article searches, agility, obedience and apprehension. He was also certified in the detection of eight narcotics and firearms, as well as Canadian and American currency. “During his career, Charger located dozens of suspects and missing persons,” the release adds. “He and Sergeant Crowe regularly participated in canine competitions across North America, winning many and generally finishing in the top 10.”

Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.